Village Farmhouse

This is an early 18th century farmhouse, with alterations from the 19th century and rethatching in the 20th century. It is a substantial two-storey building aligned east to west, and appears to have originally been two separate dwellings. The exterior walls are lime-washed and built of local coursed limestone rubble, covered by a thatched roof. There are four rubble chimney stacks, two at the gables and two axial. The front elevation has three 19th century casement windows on the ground floor, alongside two asymmetrically placed boarded doors. The first floor features modern small-pane windows and a casement window at the west end. A central doorway is sheltered by a thatched porch with a casement window above the door. An eastern door is accompanied by a small rubble mounting block on its east side. A single-storey, probably 19th century, lean-to addition sits at the rear, with timber casements and a modern tiled roof.

The ground floor has two main rooms, each with a doorway fronting the elevation, and a smaller 19th century room at the west end. The eastern room contains a substantial open fireplace on the east gable, with an original timber lintel and later ovens. A stone stair, with wide treads, is located on the north side of the fireplace. The ceiling consists of exposed joist beams with roughly shaped timbers, which may be reused. The central room also has a large open fire at its eastern end, with an early timber lintel and evidence of ovens on the north side, which have since been removed. It’s likely a party wall once separated the east and central rooms, and was breached removing the ovens. The ceiling is of exposed joist beams, with a modern stair constructed of reclaimed materials. Both the east and central rooms have deeply splayed, single-light windows on the north side, which are now blocked. A second fireplace, lacking a surround and seemingly dating from around 1800, is at the west end of the central room, suggesting this room may have been partitioned to create a reception area. A small, unheated room at the west end is likely a 19th century addition.

The first floor is accessed via a stone spiral stair at the east end, which leads to a chamber heated by a gable stack. A stone stair rises the full height of the building to an attic room within the roof, which has an east gable window. The roof is of 18th century construction, with crossing and pegged light principals at the ridge, a ridge beam, and two trenched purlins. The principals have neatly chamfered edges with straight-cut stops. There is no communication between the central cell at the first and second floor levels, further suggesting the original two-unit design. The central chamber is accessed via a modern stair and has an axial stack. A modern attic storey has been introduced into the east bay of this chamber, with a modern partition and stair. Two early timber diamond mullioned windows, without glazing, of unknown origin have been mounted on this partition. Exposed joist beam ceilings run east to west in the small chamber/closet at the west end and in the east bay of the central cell.